Tag Archives: treaditional natural oils

Like I have written in certain other blogs of mine…Every great discovery has a certain uncanny history to it…and so does this wondrous oil…Without any further ado…let me take you the yesteryears…the years of recognition of this amazing Tea tree oil…

Even much much before Captain Cook set foot on the shores of Australia…the natives used the this oil of the Melaleuca trees for a wide range of topical and oral applications….They crushed the leaves to obtain their oil to use as rubbing mediums and mixed them with clay to form poultices and even bathed in the water containing Tea tree oil….White settlers observed and imbibed the way of using the leaves for their own healing applications…It was most unfortunate for people in the west that there was no documented evidence…and the use of Melaleuca oil was to remain confined to Australia…as a bush remedy…for the next 150 years..( phew! Now that’s a long time).

Hmm…then way back in 1922…an Australian chemist…Arthur Penfold…distilled the oil from the Melaleuca alternifolia and following…published a paper stating that it had wide-ranging antibacterial and antifungal properties..And it was disclosed for the record that this was a new type of germicide…gentle to skin cells but harmful to the germs…This oil then got renowned for its ability to treat all kinds of infections and infestations…It was the treatment of choice… from

Ringworm

Leg ulcers

Cuts and wounds

Head lice

Infections

Pyorrhoea

Gingivitis

Catarrh

Thrush

Tonsillitis

Be it….Professors…doctors…dentists and veterinary surgeons…they all….utilized its many properties for the health and welfare of their patients…

Then it was the dawn of the World War II and…this oil was in such short supply that all the available stocks were used to help stop infections from the unavoidable war wounds…both in soldiers and munitions workers that were helping with the war effort….Soon it was brought down to be cheaper…and more readily available….alternative should be manufactured to help stop the spread of germs….and the once thriving industry went into a steep decline….For the next twenty years the oil was all but forgotten…literally…I know it’s pretty unbelievable to hear that…but its a fact..

But fortunately enough…Melaleuca alternifolia oil has over 100 components working in a synergized fashion…most of which could not even be identified back in the early years…so an exact nature-identical copy was impossible to synthesize from man-made chemicals….Now you understand…As far as the 60s era was concerned…the oil made a remarkable comeback… the first scientific evidence in decades confirmed that it had a favourable effect in the treatment of boils…gynaecological infections and later for varied foot problems and nail bed infections….And now…..the once sidelined oil was ( actually ‘is’) gaining truck loads of popularity…and farms were being set up to harvest the oil on a commercial basis…

And ladies and gentleman! Hang on… it doesn’t stop there…not just can this amazing oil be used in first aid applications and toiletries…it is a powerful solvent too (which is why it helps to clear trapped bacteria in boils) and can be utilized all around the home….So if you have any old tea tree oil in the cupboard it can be safely used for household cleaning applications…understand? It is particularly good for getting the glue off plates…jars and bottles often left behind by price stickers and labels…..It can be an effective cleaner…removing paint and pen marks easily from surfaces…( wow! Didn’t have even a single clue that it is so prolific! ) when mixed with a small amount of ordinary household cleaner or laundry product and rubbed over the area…It is a good stain remover for clothes and everyday washable items….But it must not be used full-strength on plastics and cheaper man-made fabrics…because they can become damaged by the strong solvent action…It can clean silver…It helps to deodorize rooms and cupboards….Mixed with a few drops of a culinary oil it can be sprinkled onto a duster and used to polish wooden furniture…both inside the house and in the garden…